Today in class we discussed the impact of cultural differences on education in Ecuador. I liked that through this discussion we were able to apply many of the things we saw at the CEDEI school we visited on Wednesday. The school has grades preschool through 9th grade. It is a private school, however it is seen as an alternative school because most private schools focus on religious education. CEDEI is a bilingual school teaching students both Spanish and English and also starts French in 3rd grade. There are about 160 students in the school with 30 teachers with class sizes typically around 17. This is very different then a public school which typically has only 22 teachers and 460 students. English education starts in preschool which provides exposure to the language early on in a child's education.
There are many problems with the education system in Ecuador, so I was so glad to see schools like this are available to students to provide a fantastic education. In class today we discussed how worldwide, only 10% of the population attends school. In Ecuador, there is a 95% enrollment for students aged 6-14, however by the time the students reach 5th grade there is a 20% dropout rate. There are over 430,000 working children in Ecuador. I was upset to know that many students are not getting the education they should be, and by Ecuadorian law, are guaranteed. Ecuador provides students with 10 free years of schooling starting in preschool, however not all groups of people have the same access to education. Many factors can contribute to this like a far distance from the school increasing the prices of transportation, not having a birth certificate which makes the registration process very difficult, and lack of family support. For instance, indigenous students under the age of 14 on average only complete four years of schooling. Afro-Ecuadorian students in the same age group only complete six years of schooling on average. The national average is eight years of primary education which is still below the governmentally mandated and provided 10 years of school.
It is unfortunate that not all students have the same access to education as they all deserve. For instance, many public schools do not have special education programs, so when a disabled student is enrolled in school they are often times bullied and do not get the additional help they need from teachers. This broke my heart to hear because my brother is autistic and I can't imagine what his school career would be like if he did not have the fantastic support our school system at home provides. This was also one of the things the CEDEI school seemed to pride itself on. Our tour guide Lorie told us about the 18-20 students with disabilities at the school and how they were able to support them not only in a normal classroom but with additional help in the special education department as well. Individualized plans are done every three months in comparison to once a year in the United States. Not only do students with special needs benefit from the additional help, but the other students in the classes benefit from this system because exposure to those that are different then us breeds tolerance. This was another wonderful thing about the school. Since there were so many international teachers, the students are very accepting to those that are different than them. Lorie described how the school did not have any major social issues like bullying or fighting that many of the public schools.
While I think a great deal of reform is needed to improve the public education system in Ecuador and provide it to more people that currently do not have access to schools, I am so glad to see that schools like CEDEI are passionate about providing the best education possible to their students.
